Like much of the world, we were stunned by today’s announcement
of the resignation of Pope Benedict. We were also grateful that he was humbly
able to acknowledge that weakness made him unable to effectively lead the
Church at this critical time.

While it is too early to speculate about what his lasting legacy will be,
we believe that it will include some of his theological writings, including Caritas in Veritate. When it was published more than two years ago, we thanked him publicly for his words
about poverty, hunger, justice for immigrants and ecological justice as
critical issues to be addressed. We also praised his view that “justice is
inseparable from charity and intrinsic to it” and “[t]o desire the common good
and strive towards it is a requirement of justice and charity.”

At this time of transition, we are praying for the pope and for the
Church as a whole. We pray especially that our leaders will effectively address
current divisions within the Church. We believe that this can be accomplished
most effectively through pastoral, compassionate
leadership. For many of us, the Church is in need of healing on many levels. We
have faith that the Holy Spirit will guide us during this difficult time.